Afghanistan

The Taliban deputy leader has appealed for international aid as Afghanistan struggles to cope with the thousands left injured and homeless by Wednesday’s earthquake.

We were joined by Bob Seely, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight and a former soldier who served in Afghanistan.

We spoke to Zehra Zaidi, who’s a lawyer and co-founder of Action for Afghanistan – an organisation that works to secure safe passage and resettlement for refugees. 

After being barred from getting an education since the Taliban took over last August, girls in Afghanistan were looking forward to returning to their classrooms today.

The UK’s “Homes for Ukraine” scheme opened yesterday with more than 100,000 people offering to house Ukrainian refugees.

The Taliban says it is releasing two foreign journalists it’s been holding since Monday.

When the Taliban seized control of their homeland, thousands of Afghan evacuees, who once worked for the British, were promised sanctuary here in the UK. 

In the summer of 2021 desperate people in Kabul tried to board the last flights out of the Afghan capital. A man called Pen Farthing made it out with 150 animals.

As well as being engulfed in allegations about parties and cake, the prime minister has also been accused of being involved in a controversial operation to airlift animals out of Afghanistan, and then allegedly lying about it. 

The prime minister faced more questions today on his conduct – not on parties this time, but on his possible involvement in the evacuation of animals from Kabul.

What might happen in the world in 2022?

We spoke to Fawzia Koofi, a leading Afghan women’s rights activist and politician.

No new restrictions for England – yet. That was what Boris Johnson said today as he insisted the government is monitoring Covid data “hour by hour” and would not hesitate to take further action. 

Tens of millions of people face acute hunger. The health system is on the verge of collapse and political freedoms have been shut down. 

A former diplomat has claimed that many Afghans were abandoned to their fate at the hands of the Taliban during a “chaotic” and “dysfunctional” evacuation.